Animal prints ROAR this fall
It’s impossible to ignore one of this season’s strongest trends.
Animal prints are everywhere and on almost everything.
Shoes, sweaters, scarves, coats, bracelets, handbags. Even lingerie.
Leopard is the favored print, but cheetah, tiger and zebra are running wild, too.
“Animal print is all the rage this fall. It has always been a classic, timeless print so most of us already own something leopard,” said Barbara Jansen, shoe and contemporary buyer for Balliets.
This season, animal print has been reinvented with innovated materials and styled into new silhouettes such as puff sleeve tops, bomber jacks and midi skirts, she said.
“We’ve seen animal print made with Lurex, velvet burnout and in bright colors, and it’s literally impacted every category of fashion — footwear, handbags, apparel and accessories. Everywhere you look, it’s leopard and it’s in any price point,” Jansen said.
She suggests incorporating it into one element of your outfit and let that single piece speak for itself
rather than dressing in animal head to toe. Consider leopard shoes or a bold zebra stripe bag. Perhaps an animal print thigh-skimming cardigan.
Once a trend hits, even if it’s a classic look that’s having a moment, customers can’t get enough, Jansen said. “And this fall, it happens to be animal print.”
Cindi Shelby, director of new stylists for Worth New York, agrees that it’s difficult to escape this trend.
“Animal prints come and go, but it has been an especially hot trend these past few years with it absolutely exploding this fall,” Shelby said. “It has shown up in a myriad patterns, from classic leopard and snake to tiger and zebra stripes.
She said she always loves the timeless black and camel combination, but it’s fun and fresh in reds, greens and blue, too.
“Whatever animal print or color you choose, you’re certain to be spot-on trend.”